We started pre-dawn by navigating the flooded roads to Slate Creek
Marsh, which delayed us slightly, but we still had no problem rousing
Virginia Rails, while Common Snipe buzzed our head. From the
marsh we headed to higher ground and spotted a couple Short-eared Owls
skimming the grassland. We had hoped for a few early migrants and
were rewarded with a pair of Blue-winged Teal on a small cattle pond,
and a Greater Yellowlegs “tu-tu-tuing”. We also came up with some
species that wintered in this southern Kansas wetland, such as
Lincoln's, Savannah, and Field Sparrows. From then headed north
to a staked-out Inca Dove, as well as early Eastern Phoebes at the
Oxford Mill in Oxford. We needed to be in Wichita in less than an
hour, so we left the cooing Inca Dove and hot-footed it up to Pawnee
Prairie Park in Wichita, where we needed to pick up most of our eastern
woodland birds before the forecast increase in wind.

All the usual suspects were there; White-throated Sparrow, Cedar
Waxwing, Spotted Towhee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and a few unexpected
birds like Cooper's Hawk, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Fox Sparrow.
After the obligatory stop at the now semi-famous Oldsquaw Pond, where
we found Greater Scaup, we headed to Quivira. At this time the
wind was gusting from 30 to 40 mph, and we were heading straight into
it. When we made it to Quivira we still found the birds we
needed, although they were a little wind blown. The family of
Tundra Swans we had staked out were still present, along with a Lesser
Yellowlegs walking next to a Greater. We then headed to Cheyenne
Bottoms to find a few missing species such as Common Merganser and
White Pelican, and maybe a few raptors. We weren't disappointed,
finding a hunkered Ferruginous Hawk by a prairie dog town, and a
Merlin. As we rode the wind back toward Wichita we thought about
going after Eastern Screech and Barred Owl, but thought better of it,
and went instead to a bar for a sandwich and a beer.